Stroke centers ahead for Medina, Lewiston

Two more area hospitals are expected to receive state approval as designated stroke centers in early April.

The State Department of Health has recommended approvals for Medina Memorial Health Care Facility and Mount St. Mary Hospital and Health Center into the state stroke center program. The State Hospital Review & Planning Council are expected to accept the recommendations at its April 8 meeting.

With the approval, the total designated centers statewide will grow to 120.

Currently, Niagara Falls Memorial Hospital is the only hospital in Niagara, Orleans or Genesee counties designated in the state program. Adding Medina and Mount St. Mary expands options for patients suffering from stroke symptoms.

The statewide program, which began in 2004, was designed to improve care to stroke patients through enhanced policies, protocols, rapid evaluation and treatment. Criteria includes physician care within 15 minutes of arrival to the emergency department, a CT scan within 25 minutes, lab results in 45 minutes and receipt of clot-busting drugs within an hour of arrival, or within three hours of symptom onset.

Both hospitals have been deemed eligible, with dedicated acute stroke teams on-site and with appropriate neuro-imaging services available.